She Needs You
by Shadow's Liight
Summary: Remus is too scared to accept the challenges that come with being a father, due to his condition. Harry is there to remind him he can't run away from the woman he loves.


_Okay so I want to start posting these Camp Potter ones and the first entry is for Archery: Write about someone with a fear of commitment. The character I chose for this is Remus Lupin and this is set during the Deathly Hallows. It ignores canon pairings (for the Trio) but the basic plot is the same._

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"Don't be such a coward, Remus!" Harry had yelled and in that moment, Remus had seen his old friend James Potter glaring at him, furious at the fact that he would even for a moment considering leaving his pregnant wife and unborn child. But they didn't understand. Neither James or Lily were monsters like he was, Harry wasn't a monster like he was. They didn't understand what he had done to Tonks. They couldn't possibly understand. For a moment, he had been selfish, trying to be happy even when he didn't deserve to. It was when a slightly exhilarated Tonks told him she was pregnant that reality came crushing down on him on what he had done to such a beautiful woman.

"I made a grave mistake in marrying Tonks, I've made her and this child an outcast," Remus tried to explain knowing Harry was upset at this and Ron and Hermione weren't looking too pleased either although they weren't as vocal about it as Harry was. "Don't you see? I just want to protect her – you can't blame me for that." _Why don't you understand? I'm a monster and Tonks is beautiful. I couldn't do this to her._ He wished Harry wouldn't behave so much like James right now. He found it hard to look at Harry right now with the firmness in his features and Lily's eyes filled with anger looking back at him. Tonks was amazing – she deserved so much more than what he could give her. The best decision was to leave her and let her raise the child alone – if he never knew his father, he'd have a much happier life.

"I do blame you," Harry said heatedly. "My father died to make sure my Mom and I could live. Do you honestly think he'd want you to dump your wife and kid to run off to an adventure with us? I don't believe it. If you were so scared about committing to her, then why did you marry her? Why did you enter a romantic relationship with her if you couldn't commit with her until the end? Don't be so selfish Lup-Remus."

This was the first time that Harry had called Remus by his first name instead of Lupin or Professor and it was a sign of how upset he was because of the point he was trying to make. He didn't know where his anger was coming from but he couldn't seem to stop. He pushed Hermione and Ron's hands away when they tried to stop him. He needed to make his old Professor and mentor understand somehow. Remus clenched his fists. He had been hoping Harry would understand and support him with this because he knew what it was like to be an outcast even if his situation was different. He knew he was doing the wrong thing – there was a large ounce of regret considering he was abandoning Tonks when she needed him the most. Tonks hadn't cared that he was a werewolf, she hadn't cared that he was much too old for her and much too poor. She would be happier with someone more normal. Someone who wasn't so dangerous.

"I…" Instead of arguing with Harry, Remus sunk to the floor burying his head in his hands and shaking slightly. Harry wasn't yelling anymore and for a moment Remus thought that the trio had just abandoned him to give him the time to think about what he had been doing but the feeling was swept away when he felt Harry's arms wrap around his shoulders. He leaned into the hug subconsciously although he was still shaking slightly mostly because he didn't know how to really respond.

"Remus…" Harry said, voice sounding much calmer. "Look…I'm sorry I yelled. I just…my Dad was your best friend. He'd hate to see you talking like this, so would Sirius. I know I'm a lot younger than you and I have no right to be scolding you when you're older but you're acting like an idiot and since my Dad and Sirius aren't around to tell you so, I'm going to do it for them. Because I know they'd want their best friend to be happy. If I could have a chance to have my own family, if I can survive this war and actually beat Voldemort then…I would take it. I'm a danger to Hermione, Remus but she refuses to leave my side even though we've broken up. If we survive this war, I want to make her happy. I want us to have a future together and I'm sure Ron feels the same way about Cho as well." He chuckled, still remembering how much it had stung when Cho had told him she preferred his best friend over him but was glad Hermione had been there to make sure they didn't fall apart.

Remus listened to the words of his best friend's son and felt shame well up inside him. Harry was still a child yet he sounded a lot more wiser than most adults he had met. Then again sadly Harry was not able to live the life that every child deserved to have without the horrors of having to face Voldemort and save the world. Tonks…being with her, holding her had made him feel as if something inside of him was whole again. It made him feel like he wasn't a freak and he honestly did deserve someone as amazing as Tonks.

But seeing what he had done to her, the danger she was in from both Fenrir Greyback and the Ministry and the disapproval from her family (especially now that she was pregnant with their child) had stung so much that he had considered for a moment to break any commitments and run from her before she could so much as stop him. In a way, he was glad Harry had chewed him out even if he hadn't liked the words coming out of his unofficial nephew's mouth, he knew if James and Lily were alive, they would have said the same. Sirius might not have even bothered talking, he would have hexed him before he had the chance to talk.

"I'm sorry," Remus murmured, heart feeling like it was cracking. "I don't want to be without Tonks but I want her happiness more than mine…"

"Her happiness is you," Hermione finally said speaking up, taking Harry's hand into her own as she stepped forward, seeing the distressed look on her ex-boyfriend and best friend's face. "If you leave her after she put such trust in you, how do you think she'll feel? Harry and I may have officially broken up but he'd have to petrify me to stop me from being at his side. We committed to him first year when we agreed to go through the trapdoor with him and we've had time to back out but we never did and we never will. We made a promise we were in this together. No matter how much our relationships change over the years, Ron dating Cho, me dating Harry, it may have created a breach in our friendships but we never broke our commitment."

Ron nodded in agreement. "Besides, he doesn't understand love right? You-Know-Who? It may very well be his downfall in the end."

Remus had to admit in awe that the three of them were willing to stand by one another despite the dangers much like Tonks had been willing to stand by him despite the fact that he was a werewolf. "I'm a coward aren't I?" His voice shook a little. "She stood up against her own parents for me and I just left her. Can I really make up for this? I was just scared of outcasting her in the Wizarding World…and my child too."

Harry smiled a bit now. "You told me once that my greatest fear is fear itself and that our fear is only as big as we let it be. It's okay to be scared. I'm scared too. I'm scared I'll let the Wizarding World down and end up dying like Dumbledore did. I'm scared I won't be able to defeat him and things will fall into chaos again. But if I let that stop me, I'm giving him power to control me through fear. I don't want that. He's hurt so many people…Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore…they all died because he's insane and wants to kill me. Please, Remus. Go back to Tonks."

There was silence for a moment and no one spoke in that moment before Remus finally pulled away from Harry, looking at all three of them.

"Your father would have been so proud," Remus said softly. "You were channeling him right about now with how passionate you were in convincing me. And Hermione, you reminded me a bit of Lily with your support."

Harry and Hermione both flushed a little and Harry smiled at them being compared to his parents, something which made him happy to hear about.

"Go," Harry said softly and Remus did so, vanishing like he had come from there.

Hermione squeezed Harry's hand. "Are you alright?"

Harry realized his cheeks were moist and looked down. "Was I too hard on him?"

"Well, yeah," Ron said tactlessly causing Hermione to send him a sharp look so he quickly amended "But considering how down on himself Lupin was being, he kind of needed that. I'd hit you if you ever got down on yourself like that."

Hermione groaned. "Ronald, do you ever think before you talk?"

Harry let out a weak chuckle as his two best friends began arguing and had to wonder how the two of them had even managed to remain friends for as long as they had with how much they bickered. Then again, none of them would be friends if it weren't for the troll. He wiped away the moistness and looked away from them. Parents shouldn't leave their child unless there was no other choice to be made. He thought of Voldemort whose father had abandoned his mother while she was pregnant and look how he had turned out. While he knew Tonks would be a much better mother than Merope was, he felt a child needed both their parents, not just the mother.

"Harry?" Hermione said again, her and Ron having finally stopped bickering. "Talk to us."

Harry exhaled and looked straight ahead. "Parents shouldn't leave their child if they don't have to. My parents died so I could live. How would Remus's child have felt when he learnt that his father left him while he was still alive? While he had a choice to stay? If Remus abandoned them today, his child would have never forgiven him because he made the choice to leave. I've always blamed myself for my parents' deaths because they made the choice to risk their lives no matter what it took."

"Remus won't abandon Tonks now," Hermione said softly. "But you need to understand, Harry. He's lived with discrimination all his life and even though your Dad and Sirius accepted him for who he was, majority of the Wizarding World didn't. Tonks fell in love with him and he fell in love with her but he was scared to start a relationship in the first place because he felt someone like him didn't really deserve love. But at the same time, he loved her so much that when she pushed herself inside, he couldn't really push her out. They got married but since Remus had never been sure of the commitment and simply allowed his heart to rule his emotions, he ran away. His fear to a long-term relationship with Tonks was always there. It's like you were scared to continue a relationship with me because you were worried about being marked by him."

Ron nodded in agreement. "Hermione's right, mate. It's going to be okay now." He reached out, resting a hand on Harry's shoulder and Hermione rested her head against the other one.


End file.
